What:  According to McKinsey, global growth will be driven by Asian customers in the future

Why it is important:  Brands and retailers need to adapt as “Asia” is a concept covering deeply different cultures and attitudes towards consumption.

Asia, already the world’s consumption growth engine, will reinforce that position over the next decade (50% of the global growth 2020 – 2030, for USD 9.5 trillion), forcing businesses and investors to learn how to serve distinct styles of consumers (Japanese Instagrannies, Indonesian Gen Z gamers, Indian small shop owners, Chinese lifestyle-indulging millennials, among others). It is expected that one of two upper-middle-income and above household to be located in Asia, and one of every two transactions to be made in the region.

There are of course challenges that the region will have to face:

• Growing inequalities, due both to a rapid growth and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for the most fragile populations,
• Climate disruptions as Asia is on the front line of climate risk (two-thirds  of the global risks are located in the region).

However, other elements tend to lead to retail optimism:

• Single-person houselholds are growing quicky and make up 15% in China, creating opportunities for the “lonely economy” retailers (home delivery, single-packaged food, pets, self-care…),
• Seniors are expected to account for a third of consumption growth in Asia, and are increasingly going digital (90% of Japanese and South Korean seniors are expected to be online by 2030).
• Digital natives (born between 1980 and 2012) including Gne Z and millennials, will drive Asia’s growth in the coming decade. The use of buy now pay later and other new gen credit options will fuel the growth, but will also be a potential time bomb in the region.
• Women are increasingly empowered and could generate a fifth of additional consumption in Asia.

These new consumption patterns and sources of opportunities will favour forces which are already quite strong in the region: hunger for sustainability, passion for Asian brands, digital transformation (including ‘super apps’) and personalisation (the segment of one).

the consumers in asia trailblazing new paths to growth